Brad Thorn knew there were good things happening at the Reds when his players wanted to stay.
While Queensland has not been immune from the exodus of senior players at the end of the World Cup cycle - losing former captain Scott Higginbotham, playmaker Duncan Paia'aua and former Wallabies Sefa Naivalu and Caleb Timu, as well as talismanic captain Samu Kerevi - they have arguably had the least disruption of any of the Australian Super Rugby sides.
Not only have they kept their core group together but the Reds went on an off-season signing spree that will keep some of Australia's best young rugby talent at Ballymore until the end of the next World Cup.
While James O'Connor inked a two-year deal with the Reds in July before returning to the Australian rugby fold, Queensland's remaining World Cup players - Jordan Petaia, Taniela Tupou, Izack Rodda and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto - are all locked down until the end of 2022 or 2023.
And they're joined by a host of rising stars, including Junior Wallabies Isaac Lucas, Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson (all 2023), Wallaby-in-waiting Tate McDermott and rising forwards Harry Hoopert and Angus Blyth (all 2023), former Junior Wallabies flyhalf Hamish Stewart, Wallabies squad member Alex Mafi (both 2022) and recent Wallaby debutant Liam Wright and pre-World Cup training squad member Angus Scott-Young (both 2021).
While Thorn is written off in some circles as another Kiwi coach, he is a proud Queenslander, who has great passion for the maroon jersey - even if he did wear it in the "other code" during the heat of State of Origin battles.
His passion for his state means he wants to nurture home-grown talent and while he does not handle player negotiations, he wanted to make sure the crop of players remained at Ballymore.
"Queensland is always going to produce good rugby players, it's shown over history they can produce very good footballers but the challenge can be keeping them," he said.
"The first thing you want to do is spot them, bring them into your program and get the best out of their talent and help them refine their game.
"But the biggest challenge often is once you've got that, keeping them in Queensland.
"That's why for me, a big thing was around Queensland. It couldn't just be about money, it had to be about the mateship - they've come through together, they care about each other - and the connection to the state.
"The cool thing about them re-signing is pretty much every one of them … there was no mention of any other place, it was, 'I want to stay here'.
"You know you've got to a good spot when it's just about doing the deal. To me, that's starting to get to what I know."
Thorn knows plenty about successful teams.
As a member of the Brisbane Broncos, he won four premierships, while he also snared a Super Rugby title with the Crusaders.
"As a Bronco, I wasn't interested in going anywhere else - and trust me, I had opportunities and offers - but I wouldn't play against the Broncos," he said.
"It was the same with the Crusaders. I did go to the Highlanders but that was after I'd pretty much finished up, I went back there because Jamie Joseph asked me to come back from Japan and it was because that's where I'm actually from and I wanted to represent where I actually really did come from.
"But for my career - 17 years - in league I had one club, and union, seven years for the Crusaders - I never really wanted to go anywhere.
"And I feel like that's happening here. They're a very tight group here.
"Now that they've got that longer term stuff dealt with … you can get on with loving your footy, playing your footy and trying to win titles and play finals footy."
Players often move through the junior ranks together and into grade football. And while a couple may graduate to the elite ranks at the same time, it's rare that a whole group moves through as completely as the Reds of 2020 have.
They have had success together too, many of them winning national titles in the U20s and NRC ranks with Thorn at the helm as coach.
Making the step to the next level will be tougher though.
"They've had a bit of experience together now in the last couple of years and they've realised that this doesn't come easy, you don't just waltz into finals footy," Thorn said.
"With the 20s and the NRC, things went pretty well for the lads. But this is another level."
The next step is making the finals and Thorn is not about to shy away from the fact that that's his goal this season.
If they refused to use their youth as an excuses last season, the Reds are even further removed from that as they prepare for a campaign in which they are regarded as genuine Australian conference hopes.
"Definitely we want to make finals footy this year but I still believe every team should want that," Thorn said.
"Last year, I wanted to scrape in there. I felt it'd all be touch and go but I like fast-tracking and I wanted to sneak in there.
"Down to the last couple of games we were a chance but we just couldn't get those conversions.
"It just meant that we weren't ready yet, we hadn't earnt the right yet. It'll definitely be a goal this year."
The competitor in Thorn doesn't understand why else you would want to be part of the competition.
"I just think: 'Why do you do pre-seasons, why turn up when you don't want to be a part of that?'
"That's how I always thought as a player, it was always about finals footy."
And that's what he wants to instill in his players.
"Another part of last year was just for my guys, just their mindset. You're not just participators," he said.
"This club hasn't had much joy in a long time and I just wanted to make them aware, we're actually playing for something.
"We're not just here to be a team and just be part of it, you're actually here wanting to progress.
"When finals footy happens, it's a new competition which is so exciting."
The path won't be easy for Queensland, who play their first three rounds on the road, including rugby's dreaded Doomsday Double - consecutive games in South Africa and Argentina in weeks two and three.
But Thorn is embracing the challenge.
"You can't not really," he said. "We're down at the Brumbies and they were the conference winners for our area, so they're always tough down there - league or union, they're always tough down there.
"Then we've got the Lions, who were up there (in the South African conference) and then the Jaguares, who were the finalists.
"As a player, if I can get that trip done early, then good. We don't go there in fear and trembling, we see it as a good challenge.
"You do that travel right, you grow and you get really tight as a group. If you do it wrong, it can be the other way, truly.
"But whenever we've travelled, we've usually had some reasonable results."
With the season starting on January 31, Thorn is selling the road run as a great bonding opportunity for his troops.
"The guys in this group, because they're so tight, they get really connected in that time and I think it will be adding on from the work that's been going on," Thorn said.
"It's a short pre-season, so it'll actually be really good. We'll be getting really close and getting around each other a lot and have some really good challenges in front of us."
Not that Thorn is looking for massive changes. He no longer sees a young group of mates keen to play a bit of footy.
"I just think there's a lot of hunger there. I feel like there's more of an edge coming through to them," he said.
"At some stage, you've got to get used to this level of footy. But at some stage, the professional comes along and he has an edge about him - and edge where he's there to win, he switches on, he has a way about him and I feel like I'm seeing more of that just looking at the boys.
"You can see they're here for the long-term, there's a whole heap of them and they're really tight, they're really connected for the rest of their state.
"There's no fuss with the guys, they're just going their business. But we'll see where it takes us.
"You'd hope there'd be some reward for effort with that stuff but you can never be sure."
Three players to watch
Head coach Brad Thorn nominates three players to watch this Super Rugby season.
He has kept away from his rising Junior Wallabies stars like Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson, who are likely to get plenty of game time next season but have also attracted their share of attention.
Instead, Thorn has nominated three players who have graduated from the club and NRC ranks to get their chance with the Reds.
Seru Uru - Picked up from club rugby after a strong season with Easts, the Fijian forward was pitched into Brisbane City's NRC ranks, with his progress earning him a contract with the Reds.
"Seru's really coming along nicely. He's a really good footballer.
"We saw him at Easts and brought him through NRC.
"Keep an eye on him."
Hunter Paisami - Another to have graduated from the club and NRC ranks, Paisami had a breakout season with Brisbane City in the centres with his strong ball running and punishing defence impressing plenty of onlookers. Has joined the Reds training squad this pre-season.
"Hunter could show you something, I like his style.
"I really like what's going on here. We've got this pathway and these young guys, who are doing really well but what I like also is the mature player - because I imagine some guys would feel like it's gone past them and they're only 24-25.
"We do watch club and you can see, the evidence is out there."
Dane Zander - A third player to have come through the Brisbane City NRC program, the prop is working with Reds forwards coach and former Wallaby Cameron Lillicrap and could get a run if the Reds suffer the same sort of props crisis that plagued them last year.
"He's chipping away under Cameron Lillicrap, a loosehead under a great loosehead.
"Who knows, he might get an opportunity somewhere."
